Arthur Miller during a roundtable discussion at the Signature Theater Company on Oct. 8, 2000.

REVIEWS OF ARTHUR MILLER'S PLAYS:

'The Man Who Had All the Luck' (1944)
". . . contains a certain amount of merit. . . . [T]he author and director -- Arthur Miller and Joseph Fields -- at least have been trying to do something away from the theater's usual stencils. [But] they have not edited out the confusion of the script nor its somewhat jumbled philosophies, nor have they kept it from running over into the ridiculous now and then."

'Death of a Salesman' (1949)
"Miller has written a superb drama. . . . It is so simple in style and so inevitable in theme that is scarcely seems like a thing that has been written and acted. For Mr. Miller has looked with compassion into the hearts of some ordinary Americans and quietly transferred their hope and anguish to the theatre. Under Elia Kazan's masterly direction, Lee J. Cobb gives a heroic performance, and every member of the cast plays like a person inspired."

'The Crucible' (1953)
"Miller has written another powerful play. . . . Although 'The Crucible' is a powerful drama, it stands second to 'Death of a Salesman' as a work of art. Mr. Miller had had more trouble with this one, perhaps because he is too conscious of its implications."

'A View From the Bridge' and 'A Memory of Two Mondays' (1955)
"To this theatregoer, ['A Memory of Two Mondays'], Mr. Miller's exercise in theatrical photography is flat and diffuse. . . . But in the second play, 'A View From the Bridge,' has power and substance."

'The Price' (1968)
"It is a play that will give a great deal of pleasure to many people and deserves a long and profitable run. But regrettably -- or so it seems to me -- the author of 'Death of a Salesman' is still waiting in the wings, unfulfilled."

'The Creation of the World and Other Business' (1972)
"It emerges as a victory of craft over artistry and of mind over matter. . . . It is his first comedy, and even in style quite unlike his earlier work. . . . [E]veryone interested in the theater will be interested enough to make up his or her own mind about the play. And those people will be rewarded by a production that gives the play every fair shake."

'American Clock' (1980)
"Miller's drama arrived at the Biltmore with an extensively rewritten script, a new director and a partially new cast. The result is a tragedy of another sort. Upsetting as it seems, the once beautiful pieces of 'The American Clock' have been smashed almost beyond recognition."

'A View From the Bridge' (1983)
". . . [a] stunning revival . . . Broadway has found a much-needed evening of electric American drama. . . . Mr. Miller's play, which first appeared on Broadway as a one-acter in 1955[,] is seen here in the full-length."

'Up From Paradise' (1983)
"Alas, the promised land is still well out of reach. 'Up From Paradise' is a casual, warm-spirited and innocuous musical chalk talk whose future is likely to reside with amateur church and synagogue theater groups."

'Death of a Salesman' (1984)
"In undertaking one of our theater's classic roles, this daring actor has pursued his own brilliant conception of the character. [Dustin] Hoffman is not playing a larger-than-life protagonist but the small man described in the script . . . And by staking no claim to the stature of a tragic hero, Mr. Hoffman's Willy becomes a harrowing American everyman."

'Danger: Memory!' (1987)
"While the plays are meant to be casual . . . the writing is studied and ponderous. Mr. Miller seems to have begun with his themes and conceits, then worked backward to fashion (and diminish) his characters to fit the predetermined pattern . . ."

'All My Sons' (1987)
"'All My Sons' may be too topical for its own theatrical good. . . . Even as a 1987 theatergoer admires Mr. Miller for fastening on an eternal issue, it's hard not to ask the weary, equally eternal, question, 'So what else is new?'"

'The Crucible' (1990)
"By focusing on the Salem witch hunts of the 17th century, the playwright placed the outrage of McCarthyism in historical perspective and created a drama that has remained meaningful to succeeding generations. Gerald Freedman's articulate revival at the Roundabout Theater Company is as resolute as the play itself."

'The Last Yankee' (1993)
"In 'The Last Yankee' a major playwright, Arthur Miller, is writing in a minor key."

'Broken Glass' (1994)
". . . [a] small, intense, deceptively prosy new drama . . . It's this vision, as well as the Miller voice, which remains as strong and unrelenting as a prophet's, that distinguish 'Broken Glass' and give it a poignance so rare these days that it's almost new-fashioned."

'The Ride Down Mount Morgan' (1995)
"Staged by the gifted (and increasingly busy) young director Scott Elliott, the work, first produced in London in 1991 . . . offers a fascinating testament to one author's constancy of vision and his abiding willingness to experiment to put it over."

'Elegy for a Lady' (1996)
". . . an anguished consideration of mortality and the gulf between men and women. Both performers strain a bit in their more naked self-revelations, but they are excellent in moments of ominously weighted reticence."

'A View From the Bridge' (1998)
"[Y]ou take your seat one minute and suddenly you're walking out into the white lights of nighttime Times Square, aware only that you have had the kind of visceral theatrical experience you probably thought you had outgrown. . . . This is definitely the season of Arthur Miller."

'The Ride Down Mount Morgan' (1998)
"[T]here's no avoiding the impression that 'Mount Morgan' smells musty . . . [It] brings to mind a host of more vivid works about the desperation of male menopause (think Saul Bellow or Philip Roth), with the attendant sense that Mr. Miller has really brought nothing new to the table."

'Death of a Salesman' (1999)
"In the harrowing revival . . . that opened last night at the Eugene O'Neill Theater, 50 years to the day after it made its epochal Broadway debut, you walk right into the mind of its decimated hero, played with majestic, unnerving transparency by Brian Dennehy."

'The Price' (1999)
". . . [a] seriously imbalanced revival . . . [The audience,] so accustomed to somber admonitions from Mr. Miller, sounds like a laugh track for much of the evening's first act . . . [W]hen 'The Price' settles into its earnest battle of wills . . . there is the unmistakable sound of gears being stripped."

'The Ride Down Mount Morgan' (2000)
"Patrick Stewart makes a fine devil for a new millennium. . . . the latest entry in the astonishing resurrection of Mr. Miller's work on Broadway (and elsewhere) over the last two years . . . it does feel very much as though the play has found its moment."

REVIEWS OF ARTHUR MILLER'S EARLIER BOOKS:

'Focus' (1945)
"'Focus' is better as a lecture -- and certainly a much needed one -- than it is as a story about human beings. . . . As in other novels that are written to drive home a thesis, the background of 'Focus' is more convincing than the people."

'Collected Plays' (1957)
"Miller has put the evidence of his writing career in one volume . . . with a fifty-five-page essay on his dramatic technique. . . . [T]he record of achievement contained in his book is definitive proof that the masterpiece was no accident. It was derived logically from a fine mind, an austere conscience and a creative pen."

'The Misfits' (1961)
"It lacks the luxuries of description and the fleshing out of characters, the time a novelist gives himself to establish a communion with the reader. . . . Nevertheless, there are brilliant ideas and strong stretches of dialogue here. . . . Miller's artistry is present everywhere in the book."

'I Don't Need You Any More: Stories' (1967)
"[T]hese offerings are neither mere doodlings nor scratchpad outlines for more serious works to come. At their best, they make a striking impact . . . They are not always at their best, but four tales, possibly five in this collection of nine, will enhance Mr. Miller's standing as a writer . . ."

'In Russia,' with photos by Inge Morath (1969)
"It is the special genius of the collaboration of Arthur Miller and his exquisitely talented photographer wife that they have captured as perhaps no one else could precisely that contradiction which makes Russia at one and the same time the despair of her well-wishers and the delight of her enemies."

'Timebends' (1987)
". . . a work of genuine literary craftsmanship and social exploration. I find Mr. Miller's lengthy autobiography neither self-serving nor self-indulgent in a way Lillian Hellman and Tennesese Williams saw fit to record their lives. Most of this self-portrait makes absorbing and entertaining reading."

''Salesman' in Beijing,' with photos by Inge Morath (1984)
"This is a remarkable document. First and foremost, it is, of course, the reactions of a superior stage craftsman, but more, of a highly sensitive and thoughtful citizen of the world, to the spectacle of China today."

Associated Press

Arthur Miller and Marilyn Monroe after their marriage ceremony in Westchester County, 1956.

ARTICLES ABOUT ARTHUR MILLER:

Mr. Miller Has a Change of Luck(1947)
Talking with a reporter about the success of "All My Sons," Miller said, "There is the terrible realization that it might have been otherwise. This was going to be my last play if it didn't go."

'All My Sons' Wins Critics' Laurels(1947)
Miller's "All My Sons" was selected as the best American play of the season by the New York Drama Critics Circle, which cited the play's "frank and uncompromising presentation of a timely and important theme."

Miller Rejects Hollywood's Bid(1947)
At work on "Death of a Salesman," Miller rejected an offer to submit a film script that would have been directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

No Compromise(1947)
Brooks Atkinson weighs in on the debate about whether to allow the United States Army present to present "All My Sons" in occupied Europe.

'Salesman' Is Pulitzer Play; Sherwood, Cozzens Cited(1949)
With the Pulitzer Prize, the New York Drama Critics Circle award, and the Antoinette Perry award, Miller's "Death of a Salesman" became the first play to win a clean sweep of the three major drama prizes.

Arthur Miller Grew in Brooklyn(1949)
In a profile, Miller said that one of the themes of "Death of a Salesman" is that "The closer a man gets to knowing himself, the less likely he is to trip up on his own illusions."

Arthur Miller Admits Helping Communist-Front Groups in '40's(1956)
Miller told the House Committee on Un-American Activities that he had signed many appeals and protests issued by Communist front groups over the preceding decade. He also used the occasion of a recess in the committee hearing to announce his plans to marry Marilyn Monroe.

Miller Convicted in Contempt Case(1957)
Miller was found guilty of contempt of Congress after refusing to answer questions at a hearing before the House Committee on Un-American Activities.

Miller is Cleared of House Contempt(1958)
Miller's conviction of contempt of Congress was reversed after the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia held unanimously that the House Committee on Un-American activities had not sufficiently warned the playwright of the risk of contempt if he refused to answer its questions.

Screen: John Huston's 'The Misfits'(1961)
"[The characters] are shallow and inconsequential, and that is the dang-busted trouble with this film. . . . [Marilyn Monroe] is completely blank and unfathomable . . . Unfortunately for the film's structure, everything turns upon her . . ."

A Cheer for Controversy(1964)
Howard Taubman says that the debate about the merits of Miller's "After the Fall" by critics and audiences was "So much for the better. Let discussion rage."

Question: 'Am I My Brother's Keeper?'(1964)
Miller told a reporter that he wrote the play "Incident at Vichy" after his attendance at the Nazi murder trials in Frankfurt. "I suddenly saw the play whole," Miller said.

Miller Sees PEN Growing Mightier(1965)
Speaking to a congress of P.E.N., the international association of writers of which he was elected president, Miller said: "A poet's opinion of politics were not much listened to, a short while ago. Today, a Robert Lowell condemns American foreign policy, and the very heart of government contracts."

Stars Help Arthur Miller Film TV Antiwar Allegory(1969)
In this behind-the-scenes look at the low-budget filming of his "The Reason Why," Miller says, "A lot of actors are worried about their public image, about taking a political stance. [Eli] Wallach and [Robert] Ryan are successful enough stars to be able to afford a picture like this."

Arthur Miller Returns to Genesis for First Musical(1974)
Mel Gussow talked to Miller during rehearsals for "Up From Paradise," a reworking of the previous season's "The Creation of the World and Other Business," which the author described as a "catastrophic comedy" and which was regarded by some critics as something of a comic catastrophe.

Miller Still a 'Salesman' For a Changing Theater(1975)
Speaking to a reporter before the opening of the George C. Scott revival of "Death of a Salesman," Miller said that the play's success "gave me the feeling that you could do anything with the stage provided your imagination is intact."

New Life for an Arthur Miller Play(1983)
Talking with a reporter about "A View From the Bridge" before its first Broadway production as a full-length play, Miller said that, after watching the original 1955 production, the play "became less important as a myth and more important to me as the story of a human being."

Willy Loman Gets China Territory(1983)
"Death of a Salesman" was translated into Chinese and directed by the playwright with a cast from the Peking People's Art Theater. The Times called it "one of the most significant events for the Chinese theater since the end of the Cultural Revolution."

Miller Tries a New Form For an Old Play(1983)
Explaining to a reporter why he decided to rewrite "The Creation of the World and Other Business" as a musical, Miller said, "It's those rejected babies that are very often closest to you."

A Modern Tragedy's Road to Maturity(1984)
Helen Dudar, writing about the history of the critical reception of "Death of a Salesman," says that, "Thirty-five years later, as a major new revival reaches Broadway, it is still possible to roil up debate over the play's merits."

View of a Life(1984)
Despite the success of the Dustin Hoffman revival of "Death of a Salesman," Miller told a reporter, "I don't feel I'm triumphant by any means."

'Salesman' Collaborators Part Ways(1984)
Miller's producer of 30 years, Robert Whitehead, resigned -- under pressure from the playwright, he said -- as producer of the revival of "Death of a Salesman."

Hoffman in 'Death of a Salesman'(1985)
A revival of "Death of a Salesman," starring Dustin Hoffman, acclaimed on Broadway, was adapted for television under the direction of Volker Schlondorff. "The result," wrote The Times, "is as powerful and magnificent a performance of the play as is likely to be seen in this generation."

For Arthur Miller, Denial Is Key to Apartheid(1990)
During a visit to South Africa for a BBC interview with Nelson Mandela, Miller told a reporter, "All the wrong choices were made right down the line and now the birds have come home to roost."

Tribute to a Man Of the Crucible(1995)
Edward Albee, John Guare, Carlos Fuentes and David Mamet were among the guests at a sold-out evening of readings and speeches in honor of the 80th birthday of Miller.

Film Review: 'The Crucible'(1996)
"It is precisely by leaving Arthur Miller's 1953 play so emphatically in the Salem, Mass., of 1692 that Mr. Hytner's vibrant screen version succeeds so well in transcending time and place."

Present at the Birth of a Salesman(1999)
The 50th anniversary of "Death of a Salesman," and a revival production starring Brian Dennehy, provided an opportunity for Mr. Miller to celebrate and reflect, to kvetch and wax nostalgic with a Times reporter.

Birth of an Opera(1999)
The Times ran an eight-article series on the making of "A View From the Bridge," an opera adapted from Miller's 1955 play. This final installment contains links to the earlier articles.

ARTICLES BY ARTHUR MILLER:

Subsidized Theater(1947)
Advocating a government-sponsored theater, Miller writes, "We do have the playwrights. What we don't have is a Theatre."

Tragedy and the Common Man(1949)
In an essay on the modern theater, Miller writes, "I believe that the common man is as apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings were."

The 'Salesman' Has a Birthday(1950)
On the first anniversary of the opening of "Death of a Salesman," Miller writes "There is no limit to the expansion of the audience's imagination so long as the play's internal logic is kept inviolate."

Journey to 'The Crucible'(1953)
Miller evokes modern-day Salem, where he went to research "The Crucible": "[T]he great rock, standing mum over the Bay, the splintered precipice on which the gibbet was built. The highway traffic endlessly, mindlessly humming at its foot, but up here the barrenness, the clinkers of broken stones, and the vast view of the bay; here hung Rebecca, John Proctor, George Jacobs . . ."

Global Dramatist(1957)
In an essay about his plays' reception abroad, Miller writes, "[It] is remarkable how similar the fundamental preoccupations are around the world. The dilemmas of my characters turn out to be quite familiar elsewhere."

Topics: On the Shooting of Robert Kennedy(1968)
In a bitter meditation about the assassination of Robert Kennedy, Miller writes: "Here is a people that would rather clutch hatred to its heart than stretch out a hand in brotherhood to the black man and the poor man. That is why there is violence."

On the Moon Landing(1969)
Miller considers what he calls the "two schools of thought on the moon landing. One heralds it as the start of a new Age of Discovery like the period that began in 1492. The other regards it as a distraction from social problems."

Rip Van Winkle Spanish-Style(1972)
Miller reviews Ronald Fraser's "In Hiding: The Life of Manuel Cortes," which he calls a "spellbinding story of a man who concealed himself inside his own house for 30 years (1939-69) to avoid execution by the Franco regime."

School Prayer: A Political Dirigible(1984)
In an op-ed about school prayer, Miller writes, "One looks, as they say, in vain across the world for an example of a country improved by the identification of its government with religion, which this new gimmick most definitely will do in the mind of the American child."

The Face in the Mirror: Anti-Semitism Then and Now(1984)
In an essay adapted from the introduction to his novel, "Focus," Miller writes, "It is inevitable that one should wonder whether anything like the situation in this novel could recur, and it is a question no one can answer."

The Mad Inventor of Modern Drama(1985)
In his review of Olof Lagercrantz's biography of August Strindberg, Miller writes, "Lagercrantz does not stoop to sparing his subject and perhaps that is why, by the last chapters of his absorbing and profound biography of the great 19th-century Swedish author, the question of admiration or condemnation simply ceases to exist."

Death in Tiananmen(1989)
Reflecting on his experience in China, Miller writes that the "young Chinese, the future of China, are trying to keep alive the spirit that I was privileged to have seen awakening six years ago when the very idea of staging an American play in Beijing was close to incredible."

'We're Probably in an Art That Is -- Not Dying'(1993)
In an article based on comments he made at the 92nd St. Y, Miller said, "The theater culture in this city has been dispersed. It's been going on for about 25 years now, and I think it has almost completed its devolution."

Let's Privatize Congress(1995)
In another op-ed satire of privatization, Miller suggests that we "let the free market openly raise its magnificent head in the most sacred precincts of the Welfare State."

Salem Revisited(1998)
In an op-ed comparing and contrasting the Salem witch trials to the "extravaganza around President Clinton," Miller writes, "Despite the lashings of almost all the press and the mullahs of the religious right, the people seem largely to have withheld their righteous anger. This did not happen in Salem."

The Past and Its Power: Why I Wrote 'The Price'(1999)
In an essay for The Times, Miller writes that "The Price" was "a reaction to two big events that had come to overshadow all others in that decade. One was the seemingly permanent and morally agonizing Vietnam War, the other a surge of avant-garde plays that to one or another degree fit the absurd styles."

Arthur Miller, Reading From "Echoes Down the Corridor"
"In '60's Yugoslavia, the place seemed filled with enormous energy. These were the proudest, friendliest people I had met in Europe, and the most frank and open. There was one taboo, unmentioned, but obvious: the ethnic nationalism that Tito had recklessly suppressed. I knew of course that Slovenians, Bosnians, Serbs, Croatians, Montenegrins and other nationalities made up the Yugoslav delegation to the PEN conference. But to me, they all looked alike and conversed in a mutually understood language. So their differences might be no more flammable than those separating the Welsh and the English, let's say . . . And when I asked an individual out of curiosity if he was Croatian or Slovenian or whatever, and the question caused a slight uneasiness, it seemed minimal enough to be dismissed as more or less irrelevant in this rapidly modernizing country . . ."